Johnson: Artist spreads happiness through Santa

Anne Sanregret, 78, of Mission Viejo, has been making Santa dolls for the past 22 years. She began making the dolls when she was a teacher in Los Angeles, and is now one of the best-known doll makers in the country. Each of Sanregret's dolls takes from five to 50 hours to create. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

I knew the only reason Anne Sanregret invited me to her home was on a hope that I might publicize her business. I get a lot of that.

I had, though, seen photographs of her work, and knew two things: First was that few of us – and I'm just guessing here – can afford to spend $1,500 on one of her 4-foot, exquisitely handcrafted creations. Secondly, I simply wanted to flat see and know how she made them.

Sanregret makes Santa Clauses, but not of a type – I'm guessing here, too – that you have ever before seen. And besides, I loved the story of how she got into it in the first place.

The 78-year-old woman was ready when I walked into her Mission Viejo home, immediately taking from a small, cardboard box a tiny, intricately carved but misshapen clay head with a big nose that smiled a goofy grin.

I jumped when she placed it in my hands.

“I keep them frozen,” she said as I gently tossed it from my right hand to my left as if it were a hot coal. “It makes it easier to carve and to work.”

She is among the last of a dying breed of what she calls “one-of-a-kind Santa artists,” men and women who have been shut down by increased costs, a scarcity of proper materials, factory reproductions and, quite simply, the time it takes to create each sculpture.

All of it becomes apparent when Sanregret walks me through her studio, which she has set up in her garage. She keeps her materials meticulously organized in rows of cabinets that line the walls, furs and fabric here, shoes over there, dolls on top.

The living room and dining room of her home are filled with Santas of every conceivable type – Santa riding a polar bear, on a chopper, next to his golf bag on the 18th green and riding a unicycle with a child's bicycle in his right hand.

There are 40 in all, which includes the one whose frozen head I still have in my hand, a collection that Sanregret began making Jan. 3.

She has been making Santas for nearly 22 years now. It all began right after the Rodney King riots when she was a teacher at Jefferson High School in south-central Los Angeles.

In an attempt to lift her students' spirits and help them make money for Christmas, she brought in bottles of baby food filled with holiday M&Ms and showed them how to turn them into Santas.

“We sold them for $2.50 each, and the students just loved it,” she remembered. “It showed me that Santas make people happy, so I decided I'm going to make Santas.”

That first year, she bought some clay, found some old fabric, rounded up her three children's old miniature toys and dragged out her sewing machine. Working about 50 hours on weekends and nights after a full day of teaching, she produced 12 Santas.

Anne Sanregret, 78, of Mission Viejo, has been making Santa dolls for the past 22 years. She began making the dolls when she was a teacher in Los Angeles, and is now one of the best-known doll makers in the country. Each of Sanregret's dolls takes from five to 50 hours to create. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anne Sanregret, 78, dabs lipstick on a Santa's cheeks for a bit of rosy color. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anne Sanregret's Winter Wonderland Santa features a white dove of peace on its fur coat - all elements were hand-crafted. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anne Sanregret's Mrs. Claus doll is seated and reading a miniature copy of The Nutcracker. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anne Sanregret's Harley Santa sits atop a motorcycle with a dog by his side and a few bottles of Coke in his hands. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anne Sanregret's Harley Santa sits atop a motorcycle. Each of Sanregret's dolls takes anywhere from five and 50 hours to create. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anne Sanregret, 78, of Mission Viejo, positions a Madame Alexander doll on the arm of one of the 40 Santa dolls she created this year. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anne Sanregret's creations include a line of Indian-themed Santa dolls equipped with instruments and Indian clothing. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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